Mass Effect 3 action figures to come with exclusive DLC

By Fred Dutton Published 23 January, 2012

"Could include powerful new weapons and new characters."

Mass Effect action figures due to go on sale in the US later this year will come with download codes for exclusive DLC.

As spotted on NeoGAF, a retail listing on BigBadToyStore shows eight separate figures available individually ($17.99) or in packs of four ($67.99).

The accompanying blurb reads:

"Each figure includes an in-pack card giving you access to downloadable in-game bonus content. Each figure contains different in-game content, exclusive to North American released product. Collect all eight for the full experience!"

A listing for the same items on BioWare's own store confirms the giveaway and offers a little more information:

"These products contain codes that can be redeemed for a downloadable content pack for Mass Effect 3 multi-player. They are slightly randomised during the registration and could include powerful new weapons and new characters.

"The pack could also include character boosters, weapon modifications, and weapon upgrades to make your multiplayer squad stronger. (Only supported on Xbox 360 and PC.)"

We've contacted BioWare for additional information on exactly what is on offer and whether the content will be available to gamers in Europe.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (80) Latest comment 4 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Shikasama #1 4 months ago

    I wonder how much money you would have to spend on ME3 to actually get the full game.

  • darkmorgado #2 4 months ago

    Urgh.

    Bioware have been slowly creeping towards forcing people to pay more and more to access stuff that should be in the game from the start for years, but this?

    I don't want to buy a fucking action figure to be able to unlock content that will, no doubt, already be on the disc.

  • LR100 #3 4 months ago

    Ugh, this is the next level in this DLC exclusivity nightmare. I don't want to have to buy bloody action figures to get a hold of stuff like this.

  • Lunatic4ever #4 4 months ago

    I find action figures ridiculous...there was a time though when I really liked them. Maybe I just got too old .

  • Ternon #5 4 months ago

    @Shikasama

    Yes, this extreme whoring is indeed a very worrying development, I think ME3 at this point might be the most expensive game ever released if you want every weapon, character and extra content(like the robodog).

    It is amazing how my respect for Bioware is plummeting, I thought they couldn't get any lower after Dragon Age 2 debacle.

    This is so horrible that I have a feeling most people who are not used to pirating will pirate ME3. This is just textbook case of how to piss people off with nickel-and-diming and make them pirate games.
    Edited by Ternon at 23/01/12 @ 23:45

  • darkmorgado #6 4 months ago

    Oh well. Given this extreme whoring of content across all these different bits, and the fact that all the footage so far seems to indicate they've dumbed down the RPG aspect even more than 2 managed and seem determined to turn it into Gears of Mass Effect, I am going to wait for the GOTY edition on this one.

    Sigh.

    I remember when Bioware actually made good RPGs.

  • SteveHolt #7 4 months ago

    Is it fair to blame bioware for this? I mean, this was probably EA's decision.

    Anyway, vote with your wallet etc.

  • number3son #8 4 months ago

    $70. For dolls. Yep, that sounds like EA all right.

  • Ternon #9 4 months ago

    @SteveHolt

    Bioware explicitly said that all decisions are theirs, not EA.

    They even went so far in saying that they are amused how people tend to blame EA instead of them.

    Google it up.

  • Rajin #10 4 months ago

    @Ternon

    Right, and you blindly believe it when it shows in google?

    Bioware what a way to destroy the last hope i had for Mass effect 3(Should be the new subtitel for the next one : Mass Effect 4: The last hope)

    Now i REALLY fear for Dragon Age 3, i sure hope that they keep on making their RPG's alongside these new action based games, not changing every franchise.
    Edited by Rajin at 23/01/12 @ 23:53

  • Shakey_Jake33 #11 4 months ago

    Oh please stop this nonsense, developers! I just wanna buy a damn game without feeling like I'm missing out because I've bought X version, or decided to go with Y retailer.

  • Ternon #12 4 months ago

    @Rajin

    I think there must have been some radical shift in entire Bioware philosophy/management in making and releasing games after Dragon Age Origins.

    It's like a completely different company now, you can expect anything from them now.

  • Rajin #13 4 months ago

    @Ternon

    You could be right, maybe i should just accept that they won't revert back towards their old state.

    Just find it difficult to accept and believe that this all happend so radically fast....
    Edited by Rajin at 24/01/12 @ 00:02

  • skyrend #14 4 months ago

    @Rajin

    Dragon Age 2 has already killed my hope for Dragon Age 3 or any Bioware game for that matter.

  • Gastrian #15 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • Jay-ITFC #16 4 months ago

    I've already pre-ordered the Collectors Edition and Hardcover Guide - sorry but action figures is a step too far! If your spending £70 on a game it should include every add-on that's going.

  • ShiroBen #17 4 months ago

    Hope ... fading ...

  • uknortherner2000 #18 4 months ago

    @Gastrian Sorry Gastrian, but these kinds of arguments don't work. We are increasingly seeing publishers like EA demanding £35 (PC) or £50 (console) merely as a price of entry for an incomplete title, where you are expected to keep on paying for something more complete.

    It doesn't matter if it's overpriced drip-fed DLC, day-one DLC or any other kind of microtransaction crap the likes of Riccitiello and Kotick are obsessed with these days, we *are* getting screwed.

    Pretty soon, we will be forking out £35-£50 just for mere chunks of gameplay or episodic crap.

  • el_pollo_diablo #19 4 months ago

    I think the concept of a 'complete game' is over. It's now all modular. Seems a shame.

  • penhalion #20 4 months ago

    At this stage, as much as I'm hyped about mass effect 3. I just want to yell at Bioware to just fuck the hell off. I'm not even going to tone it down for prime time either.

    If this is what their stupid buy the game in pieces policy is doing to a full franchise fan. I hope they are getting it through their thick skulls what those less invested in the series are probably thinking. Horse fucking armour is all I can say at this stage.

    Thinking about it and stewing for a few more minutes I actually cancelled my pre-order. I'm seriously done with this shit.
    Edited by penhalion at 24/01/12 @ 01:00

  • Rens11 #21 4 months ago

    The more I hear the less I want multiplayer, different dlcs for different retailers and now this! Can't I just play the full game that I've paid for!

  • JadedSoul #22 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 08:10:55 26-04-2012

  • Sunyavadin #23 4 months ago

    Oh, eat a dick, EA.

  • ruddiger7 #24 4 months ago

    I will buy the game for sure but I will get this extra DLC content from a torrent site.

  • jimr9999us #25 4 months ago

    How many different ways can i spell fail?

    Fail. Ailf. Ilfa.
    Lfai. Laif. Lafi.

    -sigh-

    I'm worn out. What will it take to make Ubi/Acti/Ea to quit f****** around? They're gonna blink and we'll all be gone and all of their g***** will be all they have left.

    Stupid f****** can all go to hell. ME3 is dead to me, so is TOR.

    Hey EA! I spent $500US on games the last 6 months...you won't see a penny in 2012!

    Go F*** yourself!

  • MaxFN #26 4 months ago

    Is that action figures for this new multiplayer shooter, right?

  • Jacksie66 #27 4 months ago

    Fuck off
    Fuck off
    Fuck off
    Fuck off

  • DDevil #28 4 months ago

    @jimr9999us One. There's one way to spell fail.

  • fiery_jackass #29 4 months ago

    @DDevil
    ... and that's B-I-O-W-A-R-E, right? Do I win $10? Or a bit of exclusive DLC?

  • DDevil #30 4 months ago

    @fiery_jackass Nope, you just spelt "Bioware". Better luck next time.

  • AVisualEpiphany #31 4 months ago

    Seriously, action figures?
    I didn't have to buy Barbies to unlock extra horses so this shit can fuck right off

  • anomagnus #32 4 months ago

    wow. cue fake anger over DLC.

    Seriously, some of you need to re-evaluate your emotional priorities. Its DLC that will already be on sale anyway. They're not saying the figurine DLC is exclusive. They're saying that if you get the characters, you'll have access to the DLC that everyone has access to in the store, FOR FREE, as a bonus for buying the figure

    Or you could over react in the usual childish forum way, and pretend that EA is fucking your family in the ass while Bioware watches.

    @darkmorgado.

    If you don't think Bioware can make a good rpg, why are you bothering with SW:TOR?

    DLC is here to stay. You don't like it, too bad. Companies make money of it. Get with the program, or GTFO. But if all you're going to do is bitch for the rest of your life, because DLC isn't going away, you're in for a very negative life. Because DLC isn't going away.

    just in case i wasn't clear - DLC isn't going away, can we please cut the fake crying/nerd rage over non compulsory trivial purchases for a video game?

  • jimr9999us #33 4 months ago

    @anomagnus
    What's more sad...having a strong opinion about corporate greed...or having a strong opinion about gamers angry about greed?

    Sorry Anom, but you're the sad one today. Go troll the National Party forums...they are for more appropriate for your kind of self righteous hyperbole.

  • ProtoformX #34 4 months ago

    ...but the game is complete! I don't see the difference between buying an extra bit of DLC (e.g. a gun) than buying the whole expansion pack. Both options are providing an extra bit of something that you don't need to complete the game. I've read a lot of posts on here saying that this should be free. Honestly, what kind of justification do you have for that beyond a knee-jerk emotional reaction? It's their product and they can charge what they like for it.

    There's been a lot of talk around SOPA about how companies shouldn't just throw a wobbly because the internet is changing retail/distribution and it doesn't fit their expected business model. They should adapt to changing times. Well isn't this thread effectively the same? We're all throwing a tantrum because their new methods of profit-making aren't fitting our expected financial model? Things are changing and I don't think we're in any position telling game publishers to accept change if we're not willing to accept it ourselves.

  • Azhrarn #35 4 months ago

    I bought collectors editions for the first two ME games. That was before I knew Bioware would take the disgusting greedy DLC path they have with ME2.

    I just did not realize they would cut up the second game into disconnected pieces of gaming shrapnel. I felt it was incredibly disrespectful money grabbing. It was not just disrespectful to me as a customer, but more so also extremely disrespectful to what, until then, was a very promising scifi RPG/Action trilogy and to the art of game building in general.

    I am not saying I am against DLC. But I am against DLC of the sort Bioware releases. The ME2 DLC cut a game up into little disconnected pieces, as I said. They released DLC with main characters after you already played the game at least once or twice. They also released DLC with important narrative content as a DLC. They also released DLC that were provable ripped from the game on purpose to sell it to you separately for too much money (main characters/armors).
    Good and justifiable DLC are possible. Bioware just hasn't made them. Rockstar for example has made 2 superior DLC for GTA 4. These DLC were self containing and offered ample content. These DLC did not break up the main story into disconnected, immersion destroying shards and at the same time were smartly connected to the main story line.

    I have lost all respect for Bioware since their ME2 release, observing their money hungry antics with the Dragon Age franchise, which reinforced my view of them as no more than mediocre talented, ordinary money grabbers.

    I am very disappointed. Scifi games like Mass Effect do not come along very often and Bioware has now effectively butchered it.
    I will certainly not buy the ME3 Collectors Edition and I will not buy ME3 at all until they have released a complete version. And even then I will wait until it hits the bargain bin.

    Bioware is on my 'distrust' list. I will not trust anything they release until I know for sure that it is actually complete and not cut up into little disconnected chunks.
    Edited by Azhrarn at 24/01/12 @ 08:09

  • Inmediasress #36 4 months ago

    I think Bioware or more appropriately EA want to make back as much money as they can with the Bioware brand, because they probably fear like hell that TOR won't break even let alone make profit.
    That could explain the short dev cycle (more like recycle) on DA2 because for the horrendous game it was it had low costs and made a lot of money.
    This textbook case of whoring a franchise out also fits the theory nicely.
    Then again its only a theory.

    Apart from that in general gaming does run fast down the toilet with shit moves like this.
    I honestly fear for next gen, between real money auctuions and over priced episodic content I see gaming becomming a rather expensive and mainstream pile of dung.
    There is not even much choiche in the matter since if every publisher does this only thing you can do is quit gaming altogether.
    Yeah of course tell that to a drug addict to quit getting high.

  • Toodle122 #37 4 months ago

    I was angry until I read:

    "for Mass Effect 3 multi-player"

    Then I couldn't care less.

  • duckmouth #38 4 months ago

    "Exclusive to Northern America released product". Really? Like nobobdy else worldwide plays Mass Effect. Wankers.

  • Baihu1983 #39 4 months ago

    Fuck you EA! And damn you Bioware!

  • Siobheon #40 4 months ago

    Sigh. I absolutely loved ME2 and at a time would happily have bought MER3 day 1. However almost every single article about ME3 has set alarms ringing: e.g. The trailer, the bit about playing it as a shooter, the various bonuses you get for buying other crap, Dragon Age 2. I'm concerned that a) there's too much as DLC and b) It might not be very good.
    Now I'm going to wait and see, possibly until GOTY.

  • The-Bodybuilder #41 4 months ago

    You know? I'm getting really tired of gaming these days.
    This may very well be my last console. I don't look forward to the day when a level is blocked out to you until you buy a merchandise mug.

  • Yuroko #42 4 months ago

    All I want is a game for £40 quid without publishers trying to sell me the rest of the game separately. Is that really too much to ask? I love good chunky expansion pack DLC but this kinda shit is pissing me off. I can live with in app purchases on my phone since I only paid .69p for the game but when I pay £40 I want the whole fucking game included.

  • Zozzilla #43 4 months ago

    Spending a couple of extra quid for a new campaign mission which includes maybe a new weapon or two would be grand. Spending 15 quid for a gun in multiplayer...fuck that. Hope they don't bring that bullshit over to these shores.

  • Okamiwolf #44 4 months ago

    Gaming is going to be horrible in 10 years if this DLC trend continues. 2x$70=$140 + applicable taxes and shipping to get PART of the full game?? EA is the devil.

  • bad09 #45 4 months ago

    Dear god, surprising they are pulling this on ME but still not surprising things are sinking this way, look at Activision they are selling plastic toys to kids as games these days with that skylander stuff. Takes DLC to new levels of crap.

    I could sound like an old fart though, with the average age of a gamer being in the 30s I guess they need something to bring in the kids. Still at the rate the industry is sinking I'll be completely a retro gamer in a few years, I can already count on 1 hand the titles I'm getting in 2012.

    / rocks in rocking chair, polishes jaded old gamer badge, remembers when games were games, lectures some young folk on the merits of gaming without ethernet snagged round it's neck.

  • Lexx87 #46 4 months ago

    Well this confirms i'm not buying this on release, and i'll be waiting until it's dirt cheap and the DLC is on sale.

    They pull this rubbish I just won't buy their game :)

  • anomagnus #47 4 months ago

    @jimr9999us

    Lol, i'm a racist now, because i think people need to calm down over DLC?

    Jim, seriosuly, L.O.L. When i spoke of people needing to get a grip, you fit the role perfectly. And to think, you accuse me of hyberbole? Laughable.

    Anyway, its optional, OPTIONAL DLC. You have the ultimate power of choice over this. You can choose not to buy this. You can ignore this completely. There are very rarely times when consumers can directly impact on a corporation and DLC is one of them.

    If you don't want it, do not buy it. Use your rights as a consumer to try and sink it.

    Of course, people seem unable to grasp this. Instead we get hyeprbolic posts from people like yourself, or the beautifully crafted post which consists of 'FUCK OFF' four times in a row.

    Get a fucking grip. You've a problem with DLC. grand, but put it in perespective. Its optional.

    Honestly, national party forums. Christ... Is it any wonder corporations don't listen to gaming forums, with people like you on them. But lets face it, the tone of this conversation from people against DLC isn't exactly the very height of intelligent debate, is it?
    Edited by anomagnus at 24/01/12 @ 09:20

  • anomagnus #48 4 months ago

    @Inmediasress

    A theory would at least have some research immediasress, all you have is ill informed opinion.

  • roquey Verified Lead Quality Assurance Tester and Compliance Specialist, Universally Speaking #49 4 months ago

    Right so that means US players get ahead in multiplayer just buy buying some plastic? $17.99 will turn to what £15 if it ever comes to the UK. Good job EA good. Fucking. Job.

  • riz23 #50 4 months ago

    Relax. Pointless DLC is pointless.

  • kangarootoo #51 4 months ago

    "Collect all eight for the full experience"

    They could perhaps have chosen those words a little better. Though as has been already noted, multiplayer means nothing to many ME players (including me), so I don't really mind.

  • StooMonster #52 4 months ago

    In my opinion ME3 has turned from a "must have" grab at launch title to a "meh, I can wait" one.

    This is the first ME title I won't be pre-ordering. The second one, I bought all the DLC, this time I think I'll wait for a GotY edition.

    All these shenanigans have turned this ME fan right off.

  • deadmonkeyuk #53 4 months ago

    Mass Effect is one of my favourite franchises but they are trying so hard to make me hate it.

    I do not want art books, figures, dog tags, night vision goggles, Tshirts. I just want to be able to buy a game and not think people are trying to rip me off!

  • Whitster #54 4 months ago

    I don't want to sound like the jaded fan here but thats pretty much the only way to express myself as I think I've finally hit my limit.

    I've never complained about Bioware or their handling of ME before, I brought the collectors edition of the first two games, I brought all the DLC without complaining. I read the first novel (it was a bit naff so I didn't bother with the rest), I've brought the comics, fuck, I brought the iPhone game that had no bearing on the main plot whatsoever and controlled like shit. I was even looking forward to the multiplayer mode in ME:3 rather than complaining like most. Call me a fanboy, whatever, but I don't regret any of it or any of my spent money.

    This is getting out of hand though. Not only have they locked the price of the collectors edition in at £70 by ensuring it's a Game group exclusive to rule out competitive pricing, making it £20 more than I payed for the last two, with absolutley no content to justify the price rise. Now we're discovering more and more content is being locked out for retailer exclusives and this BS. So the £70 version still isn't even complete.

    I may have been slightly more enamoured if the codes were in something that added to the plot like the comics, but I'm not buying bloody dollys for the privlige.

    So sorry Bioware, I will purchase ME:3s vanilla edition, and I will play the hell out of it, and most likley enjoy it. But beyond that, me and this franchise are done.

  • darkmorgado #55 4 months ago

    @anomagnus

    Whether people choose to buy it or not, does not mean that they have to be HAPPY about it. Stop patronising people with disingenuous arguments about "it's business" and "you have a choice".

    People may have a choice, but that's exactly the problem that leads people to complain. I shouldn't have to choose whether or not to pick up 6 different bits of DLC, retailer exclusives, preorder incentives, and a bloody action figure. My choice should be:

    a) Buy complete game
    b) Don't buy complete game

    DLC whoring is just the latest method that publishers are using to milk more money out of people for an already expensive product, providing less for more. You might be happy with it, but please get off your high horse and stop belittlling people who see what is happening and feel incredibly uneasy about how their favourite pasttime is getting monetized to the hilt.

    And when was the last time that you heard of a consumer boycott achieving anything at all?

  • Inmediasress #56 4 months ago

    @anomagnus
    I love you too.

  • coomber #57 4 months ago

    @JadedSoul "Sets the cause of video games being taken seriously in the mainstream as artistic endeavours back quite a bit when even the most respected of developers resort to such shameless whoring out to make an extra buck. Action figures? Really?"

    You don't think Star Wars was taken seriously as an "artistic endeavour"? I seem to remember one or two action figures being released for that franchise and they didn't do it any harm!

    Action figures have been available for video game fans for years. And the sort of stuff they are giving away with these is just filler. Don't get me wrong, I hate all this EA marketing crap, but it won't stop ME3 being a great game.

  • arcam #58 4 months ago

    As much as there are lots of us here who have been turned off, marketing like this will more than make up for any fans they might lose.

    This is why it's annoying saying "we have a choice" or "vote with your wallet". I will do that, but it can never compare with the marketing department of multi-billion dollar company, who can reel in new customers with Sprite promotions, iPhone apps and BioWare Pulse TV shows. "Voting with my wallet" might make me feel better, but it will not do anything to change the direction Bioware are going in.

    Ex-fans like me will not be missed by Bioware.

  • darkmorgado #59 4 months ago

    @coomber

    I can see the point you're making, but it's somewhat undermined by choosing to make it by citing a franchise that is largely now defined by how much money has been milked out of it by endless merchandising rubbish.

  • anomagnus #60 4 months ago

    @darkmorgado

    Lets get real here for a second. Making games is expensive. In fact is immenesly expensive. This is the truth that many of you on the forums aren't able to accept. Some games are already more expensive than movies. Development times have gone from months to years.

    I'd love to say, the old days are coming back, they're not.

    End fact, for games development to continue, they need as much money as they can get. Fast. I accept this, i took this as the acceptable trade of that sees AAA titles that i enjoy continue to be made. Its no different from the movies. I like me my big films. Buts lets be honest, the biggest franchises have a plethora of merchendise attached to them. They have to, its the only way they can recoup their costs.

    This is the world we live in. If you want to maintain a childish outlook about how unfair everything is, you can certianly do it, just expect people like me to pull you up on it.

    If you really love gaming, then you need to accept this as the inevitable result. Even a two million unit seller these days is seen as average.

    I know people on this site (rightly!) loved the Witcher 2 and Dark Souls, but both of those are around the 1/1.5 million units mark. Do you think those returns will work in 5 years, when development costs will likely have doubled again? Not unless they double the cost of the games, is my own guess (or ill informed opinion!!!), which they'll never do. In fact, games have remained steady in their cost for almost 16 years (i remember paying 60 pounds for SF2 on the SNES!!!). Development costs have not remained the same

    You either love games, and accept that this is now a necessary evil, or you let the bile eat you up.

    Your choice

    By the way, and i point i failed to make. This is for multi player only. The people complaining most about this, are the people that said they wouldn't touch the multiplayer anyway...
    Edited by anomagnus at 24/01/12 @ 11:07

  • RedSparrows #61 4 months ago

    There is DLC and then thete is whoring DLC. This Is the latter.

    I can't think of any other series that has plummeted quite so much In my estimation. And I am not an RPG snob.

  • anomagnus #62 4 months ago

    @arcam

    Well, i suspect on an indivdual level, they will miss fans like you. But there is a great thread on their site, where Stanley Woo has been discussing these changes. Hes very candid, and its clearly very business orientated.

    But he makes a good point. That this DLC has worked for them. Clearly some people like it. I enjoyed it. If they have to choose between what has worked for them and something that hasn't, they'll choose what works.

    He's also very candid about this new project. Its new. Its BRAND new. It may not work. But they have a responsabilty to push ME to new fans, as well as old. They may get new fans from this.

    That will always be a win for them.

    Its sad that you wont be able to enjoy their games, though, but its not really possible for them to please everyone anymore.
    Edited by anomagnus at 24/01/12 @ 12:00

  • Zerobob #63 4 months ago

    Action figures! Oh wait, I'm 29 years old.

  • arcam #64 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 10:12:27 24-01-2012

  • remote #65 4 months ago

    I've been waiting ages for a garrus action figure to come out. Seeing that I get bonus DLC with it makes me happy.

    I think you need to keep in mind that there is an infinite variety of DLC add ons they *could* make which are pretty trivial.. new armour and weapons, new missions that take place in existing scenes reusing existing assets, etc. If they weren't making action figures, they would probably have just not made these small extras.

  • vert1go #66 4 months ago

    Eight. So it'll be an affordable as well as frustrating then... oh no wait, the other thing.

  • Wizard83 #67 4 months ago

    Fuck!

    1st KOTOR goes all MMO

    2nd Dragonage forgets its an RPG

    3rd Mass Effect is trying to rape my wallet!

    I used to love bioware but honestly they can fuck right off with this shit!

  • Caimbeul #68 4 months ago

    just give us the full f**ing game when we pick it up off the shelf/buy it on-line. this drips and drabs approach to milking money from customers is ridiculous! whatever happened to the days when yo bought a game and (and this is the really left field part) you actually got the whole game!? I dont mind the odd expansion pack but this whole DLC and retailer specic stuff is BAD for GAMERS

  • StooMonster #69 4 months ago

    I wonder if this is the first fruits of the freemium business model that is currently overtaking paid software in the mobile phone / pad app stores being applied to full priced games software.

    Perhaps we'll start to see very modular software soon, where the main price is just a foot in the door and to actually get anything done or longevity you'll need micro-transactions or other payment to get the entire game.

  • Whitster #70 4 months ago

    What do I get for buying the pervy Liana statue?

  • LiamK #71 4 months ago

    @Zerobob

    "Action figures! Oh wait, I'm 29 years old."

    And you're still playing computer games at your age? How sad are you?

  • ExplodingClown #72 4 months ago

    Azhram +1

    My biggest problem with ME2 DLC was that I had completed it with both my characters carried over from ME1 before most of the interesting DLC came out (the Hammerhead just made me miss the Mako, but I always did want a BigTrak). It mattered less for every-chance-to-be-evil Superfly Shepard, who alienated everyone, had no love interest and was the biggest bastard in the galaxy; but for Twinkle, who was Miss Paragon and enjoyed a spot of miscegenation with dull pansexual alien Liara, the discovery that I would not only have to buy DLC but go through the f**king game again to follow my ex-gal pal's continuing story... well, that stuck in my throat.

    It's rather like if The Empire Strikes Back had all the bits on Dagobah cut out and then sold as an extra short movie. Baldur's Gate didn't feel hobbled if you didn't play Tales of the Sword Coast, and Shivering Isles enriched Oblivion without feeling essential, but with this I felt decidedly shortchanged. So it's a wait for the complete edition of ME3 for me, if I bother at all: the vaguely fascistic tone of the writing is starting to grate (politicians/administrators are dismissed as bureaucrats/pencil-pushers, siding with them is largely a negative choice; contrast with the doe-eyed soldier-worship and it starts to feel like Starship Troopers without the irony). But that's for another thread!

  • geeza2020 #73 4 months ago

    Just release the damn game already! The sooner Bioware release the game, the sooner I can finish my Mass Effect story and then tell Bioware to go fuck themselves forever. After the fecking awful Dragon Age 2, and other than the Mass Effect trilogy I really couldnt give a shit about them or any of their shitty IP's they are currently running into the ground. I'll personally be buying the version of ME3 thats cheapest as I couldnt care less about any of this DLC pap.

  • Gastrian #74 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • Zerobob #75 4 months ago

    @LiamK

    "Action figures! Oh wait, I'm 29 years old."

    "And you're still playing computer games at your age? How sad are you?"

    Did I miss something? I think you'll find I'm below the average age for a gamer. Nothing wrong with playing games at any age.

    I'm also one of the youngest people in my office and all the male employees play games, even some of the female employees.

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #76 4 months ago

    Ooh Goody! Can I have some for my 36th birthday please mum?

  • Ternon #77 4 months ago

    @LiamK

    "And you're still playing computer games at your age? How sad are you?"

    This is industrial strength stupid.

    Playing computer games is more involving, complex, enriching and enjoyable than watching TV, sports, books, movies or any other form of entertainment you can think of, which are all practiced regularly by adult population.

    It boggles the mind that such stupidity still exists.

  • romelpotter #78 4 months ago

    This is but one way that E.A. are turning a one time, capital purchase, into a year long revenue stream. Multiplayer is the vehicle and with all these things, the devil is in the detail.....which has yet to be provided by EA/ BW.


    But... http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ERTS/1437923800x0x485926/88d52df9-2b67-432a-9c92-a40980e1490b/Q1_FY12_Script.pdf

    As promised, FY12 is living up to promases delivered in the above shareholder transcript. Here is a little sample, comments scripted by John Riccitiello - E.A. CEO:

    "Gone forever is the 4-to-5 year console cadence that gave developers ample time to invest and retool for the next big wave. Consider that just 18 months ago there was no iPad, Google was experimenting with Android, and most big games were limited to a single revenue opportunity at launch. Consider that each of the major consoles now has a controller that encourages users to get off the couch and get into the action. On smartphones and tablets like iPhone and iPad, the top paid apps are all games. Recognize that the fastest growing revenue streams for console, PC, smart phones and tablets are all digital. And, that EA is partnering with its retail and platform partners to help jointly grow these digital revenue streams. While the game industry has fundamentally changed, games are reaching a far larger audience base than ever before.
    With this in mind, we are building our business around three key strategies.

    IP: First, we are building the strength of our most important IP. And for EA this means about a dozen very substantial IPs. Each of these will be transformed into year-round businesses with major packaged goods launches, social launches, mobile launches, downloadable content and micro-transactions. EA‟s FY12 multi-sku and title focus on Battlefield, Need For Speed, Madden, FIFA, The Sims and Mass Effect are great examples of this strategy."

    Yes I have posted this before but as then, it's relavent in my opinion becuase it describes the current and future changes in todays gameing industry; which I think, is basically the crux of the issue.

  • mushroomyakuza #79 4 months ago

    Time for us to grab our collective ankles again eh Bioware?

  • Kikizosan #80 4 months ago

    Ha! Mass Effect by way of Skylanders. Actually, something like that might be interesting. This isn't, though I wonder how much it might unbalance the multiplayer.